Carrying skis, poles, and other equipment is awkward and difficult for many skiers. For most skiers, transporting gear requires the skier to carry skis in one hand, poles in the other hand, and any other equipment placed in a bag carried over the shoulder. Adding to this difficulty is the fact that skis and poles are long, heavy, and have sharp edges and points. A number of devices have been developed to aid skiers in carrying the skis and poles. However, when the skis are being worn, these devices must be carried on the skier's person and tend to be bulky and impede the skier's enjoyment of the slopes. Other devices have been developed which are permanently attached to the skis or poles. However, these permanent attachments are expensive and do not function properly as the devices become packed with ice and snow during skiing activities.
Several devices have been invented which have attempted to solve the problem of attaching ski poles to skis. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,842 issued to Roda discloses a method and apparatus for carrying snow skis. In this method, a receiver is mounted onto a ski and functions to receive the tip of a ski pole. The receiver is mounted in such a way that, when a pole is inserted, the pole is perpendicular to the skis, thereby allowing the pole to be placed over the shoulder of an individual for carrying the skis. This perpendicular setup, however, only allows for one method of carrying the skis, namely, over the shoulder. It would be very awkward for the user if they wanted to carry the skis any other way, for example, with their hands at their side. The perpendicular setup is also not conducive for storage of the poles and skis together, as this setup takes up a lot of space. Also, there are disadvantages to the method of mounting the pole to the ski by the pole tips. For one, this is not a very secure method. If anything were to disturb the skis while carrying over the shoulder, they would fall off the end of the pole. Another disadvantage is that this design does not accommodate ski tips of varying diameter, so there may be instances where the mount is too tight or too loose to work properly.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,273,233 issued to Moller and Moller discloses a ski clip that mounts onto a ski pole, and allows the pole to be clamped onto a ski. There are numerous disadvantages to this design. For one, if anything was to move the ski pole while attached to the ski, the user runs the risk of damaging the surface of the ski. Also, this device mounts onto the ski pole, and not the ski. This not only increases the weight of the ski pole, but also does not account for varying diameters of ski poles. In addition, this method of securing the pole to the ski by a clip on only one end of the ski is not very secure. The ski pole could not be used as a handle to carry the ski. The clamping pressure of the clip will wear out over time. Another disadvantage to this design is that it contains moving parts, namely, the pivot the clip is attached to. This can cause the clip to easily break off during a fall if left open, and become loose and rusty over time.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20090230667 from inventor Starry discloses an integrated pole-to-ski coupling assembly. This system allows for multiple different pole and ski coupling formations, by preferably using attachments both on the ski pole and ski bindings. This system does securely attach the pole horizontally along the ski and allows for the ski pole to be used as a handle. However, the greatest disadvantage to this design regards its complicated nature. This disclosure requires parts to be mounted both on the ski pole and the ski. Also required are either ski bindings that are capable of receiving the coupling or special attachments that allow this. These multiple parts and part combinations greatly increase the cost of such an assembly. Another disadvantage of this design is that it mounts the ski poles in a specific, non-adjustable position onto the ski. A user is not given the choice to mount the ski pole towards the rear end or right in the middle of the ski if they choose. In addition, since this system requires a device mounted onto the ski pole itself, it does not accommodate users of different sets of poles without the purchase of additional parts, such as when a user forgets his/her poles and needs to rent or borrow another pair, nor does it accommodate ski rental locations, where varying combinations of skis, poles, and bindings are used.
In one embodiment of the Starry invention, a coupling is attached to the ski beyond the bindings. However, in this instance, only a single coupling is attached to the ski, and the nature of the coupling combination is no less cumbersome or complex than the other Starry embodiments, requiring parts mounted to the ski pole and a separate base mounted to the ski (i.e. two couplings per point of attachment). The coupling connections are also designed in such a manner as they are easily impeded by ice and snow (they contain small holes that serve as connection points). As such, this disclosure fails to solve the stated problems of simplicity of design, cost-effectiveness, versatility, and snow/ice impedance.
Thus it is readily apparent that there is a long felt need for a single ski-pole coupling assembly that satisfies the following conditions, such as: 1) the ski-pole coupling assembly attaches a ski pole to a ski for ease of carrying, transportation, and storage; 2) the ski-pole coupling assembly permanently attaches to the ski so as to not impede the skier when not in use; 3) the ski-pole coupling assembly is simply designed for maximum versatility for use on all skis and poles; 4) the ski-pole coupling assembly is fast and easy to use; 5) the ski-pole coupling assembly is inexpensive; 6) and the ski-pole coupling assembly functions so as to not get impeded by ice or snow. The present disclosure satisfies the above-mentioned needs, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies in devices heretofore developed.